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LOL on all of those that think changing to regular oil had something to do with it. Car engines don't benefit from synthetic oil other than extended oil change intervals. Synthetic oil was originally developed for jet engines because regular oil couldn't withstand the temperatures and pressures that turbine engines produce. Conventional car engines won't produce temps or pressures high enough to break down the lubricative properties of conventional oil. There have been numerous studies done on this.

i WENT TO A BMW mechanic today here in brooklyn ( guy used to work at bmw factory in ermany, a russian guy)
He listened to the noise and he says 95 percent chance is the lifters. i told him will this sieze the engine, he goes i dont think so. I asked him also, how much to repair and he says 1000 to 2000 depends what is needed. So since my car is only worth like 3000$ i am just going to use it as it is and do all other maintence and live with this small noise. Or, if one of ya'll can give me a link on how to do this lifters change ( is it expensive to buy the parts, is it tedious job to do).

$1-2k for what? I'd get a new mechanic.

Did you check your spark plugs even? Sounds like one is loose or an exhaust leak.

Or, if one of ya'll can give me a link on how to do this lifters change ( is it expensive to buy the parts, is it tedious job to do).

Probably not prohibitively expensive to DIY, but the problem is you've got to remove the cams to get to the lifters. And that means you'll be messing with cam timing and removing the timing drive chains. Can be tricky.
I believe there are special tools designed to pull the lifters up and out of the head to swap out with the new ones.

Probably not prohibitively expensive to DIY, but the problem is you've got to remove the cams to get to the lifters. And that means you'll be messing with cam timing and removing the timing drive chains. Can be tricky.
I believe there are special tools designed to pull the lifters up and out of the head to swap out with the new ones.

LOL on all of those that think changing to regular oil had something to do with it. Car engines don't benefit from synthetic oil other than extended oil change intervals. Synthetic oil was originally developed for jet engines because regular oil couldn't withstand the temperatures and pressures that turbine engines produce. Conventional car engines won't produce temps or pressures high enough to break down the lubricative properties of conventional oil. There have been numerous studies done on this.

Not quite. The other advantage to synthetics is that they can be exposed to higher temperatures without degradation. An engine that's designed to run on synthetics may have a few localized regions of high temperatures.

Not quite. The other advantage to synthetics is that they can be exposed to higher temperatures without degradation. An engine that's designed to run on synthetics may have a few localized regions of high temperatures.

Not high enough to coke conventional oil. You need way higher temps than any regular old street car engine can produce.

non-synthetic oil won't damage or cause engine knock guys!!! engine oil is for engine. Synthetic oil might have other benifits (last longer between oil changes, ect.) but is not necessary.

Sapote

Sorta true, but the specs are. The E46 (non M) oil needs to have a viscosity of approx 12.0 cSt @ 100C, and a minimum HTHS of 3.5. Most XW30's don't come close to meeting these specs. This is why it's easier to just buy LL01 oil, or oil that at least meets ACEA A3,B3.